When did your world go quiet?

[PalominoOrGreyOrChestnutOrBay]

inspired by a tiktok trend recently, just thought it might be an interesting thread. I’m a regular poster not a journalist or anything like that (MNHQ can verify!).

When did your world go quiet? Basically, what was a time you got a fright and time seemed to stop or go quiet?

mine was I was on my horse and he decided to rear up, over concrete ground, and I felt him wobble back. As soon as I felt that first tilt backwards everything sort of went quiet and it was like an out of body experience (not a good one!). I couldn’t hear anyone around. I just remember the last thing I thought was along the lines of this is it im about to die and it was like everything was in slow motion. Luckily it was all ok but that split second was easily the scariest moment of my life and my world completely stopped.

So, when did your world go quiet?

Oh Spud :( I'm so sorry

I had this happen to me also, only I was 8 with my 4 year old brother on my shoulders who couldn't swim. The deep end wasn't quite as deep as that though, it was probably more like 1.8m. I remember desperately trying to jump up for air and just taking in more and more water, all whilst my brother was panicking trying to get himself up out of the water pushing me down. I remember my parents' friend who was watching us all in the pool looking at me with a look of 'is she OK?' Then panic as she scrambled to hoist my brother up out of the water then drag me out too. I cried so badly after that, I genuinely thought I was going to drown. I don't like people holding on to me in pools, it makes me panic even after all these years.

When I realised how little Britons know or care for their own history and heritage, and their wider impact and legacy of empire.

In Malta on holiday with my friends and we went to a local spot where there are low cliffs and loads of people swimming in the water below them. They even had steps going down so it wasn’t as if we weren’t meant to be there. My friend and I got down into the water and I was immediately pulled into the side of the rocks. My friend pushed herself out to where the other people were but I froze and kept getting pulled into the rocks. I started panicked and managed to get myself along to the side and tried to pull myself out. A big wave came and crashed me into the side and dragged me along the coral on the bottom. All my legs got scraped up and I was still in absolute shock. Once the wave went out I scrambled up the steps all cut up. I’ve always been a strong swimmer, never afraid of the water and very respectful of the sea so it shocked me to my core to feel so helpless in the water. It’s definitely made me more wary of the sea.

When my daughter stopped breathing.
luckily was resuscitated.

After my 2nd baby was born. He was 8 weeks early and the room was flooded with doctors and nurses trying to intubate him and get him breathing. It was silent for about 30 minutes and then I realised what was going on. Longest hour of my life.
(he’s a stubborn three year old now 😊)

Many years ago now, I had just been told that my first baby was going to be adopted against my will. I had one last contact session to say goodbye. I was fighting back tears when I had to hand him over after the 90 minutes was up and as I did he began to scream for me to take him back. I remember looking at him and seeing his tear stained and inconsolable face but hearing no sound at all. I don't remember anything from the rest of that day, or the months that followed really.

Postpartum hemorrhage (and sepsis) with my daughter. Time stood still and then I woke up in the ICU.

Most recently my middle boy (who is autistic) went head first into a river when we met up with friends to enjoy the westher. He can't swim. My friend saved his life.

What the actual fuck. That hospital treated you and your family so wrong.

Oh Platinumpennies I’m crying with you, for you. I’m so very sorry.

My vehicle was blown up (literally, as in flipped over) by an IED in Iraq. Just like you, everything seemed to slow down (or, more accurately, my mind started thinking a lot quicker). In an instant, everything was going dark, and I knew when it did, that would be the end.

Except it wasn’t, obviously. My first thought was I was gutted, because, despite being an atheist, I was about to find out whether I was completely wrong (yet again) and there was an afterlife. And then that answer was taken away from me. Bizarrely though, throughout the whole event, although it must have been very loud, I don’t remember hearing a thing.

Sorry for your loss… both of you 💐💐🕯

Choking on a piece of meat in a restaurant. I was aware of people, could see them looking at me, could see myself standing up but everything was totally silent until someone performed the Heimlich Manoeuvre and saved my life.

Took my wee 4 year old to his first swimming lesson. The staff took him round to the lesson and directed me to viewing gallery. When I looked I couldn’t see him. Eventually spotted his red trunks at the bottom of the deep end. Nobody had noticed him. Ran in screaming and the world definitely stopped till I got him out safe and sound. Would always always recommend bright colours for swimming. If I hadn’t seen the colour I can’t bear to think what would have happened.

I was driving on an unlit road at night when I crashed and the car somersaulted into a swamp. I remember being flipped over but held in by the seatbelt. Thankfully the car came to a stop, upright. Everything happened in slow motion, as others have said, and I felt I had all the time in the world; I even noticed that there was water in the footwell and that the top of my head had hit something.
First I tried my door and it wouldn't open then I remember telling myself, try the passenger door next. That too was stuck, but no problem, just wind down the window and climb out. Afterwards, I was told that the windscreen had popped out, so I could have escaped that way, but I never noticed that. All my thoughts seemed so calm, logical and focussed at the time. I actually walked back to the road and flagged down a passing motorist. Don't know what he thought as I was dressed in tennis whites and covered in mud!

When I properly kissed my now DH for the first time, in the middle of Waterloo station. The whole world disappeared.

Very cute story. I love it! Same situation when my husband and I first met in person and kissed in the airport. But I think the thread was meant for things that scared us. Though it’s nice to read something sweet in this sea of despair.

Seeing my beloved cat killed in front of me

Hearing the words, 'Sorry there's no heartbeat'

Realising I'd been sacked for something ridiculously stupid

Giving birth (both times, different reasons)

DH losing his job and then his x'boss ringing threatening to come and firebomb our house (because of the ££ that allegedly DH had cost him)

It's a horrible horrible feeling.

Twice for me.
The first time was when, as a young bank teller, close to closing time and the only one on the counter, two armed men ran in shouting this is a bank robbery. One of them made the customers lie down on the floor while the other pointed his gun at my face and demanded all the money. He made me go down each teller station and emptying all of them. At one stage I looked up and saw the bank manager standing by her desk pressing the distress alarm over and over, her face was literally green. Strangely I was completely calm and could only hear the robber’s instructions and nothing else. They finally left and I couldn’t stand up anymore.

The other time was when the doctor told me at about 4am following a long night of testing that my daughter had leukaemia. Three days later they told me they’d made a mistake. She had been admitted to the paediatric oncology ward and were getting ready to start treatment. Both bits of news caused the world to stop turning for about sixty seconds.

When the doctor told me completely out the blue, that my beautiful 4 year old boy had a large kidney tumour. And then 16 months later when a scan for something seemingly unrelated revealed he’d relapsed…. I’ll never forget the radiographer turning to me and saying “this is the part of my job I hate….

I still struggle to think about those days and so many more than followed

When my ds aged about 16 nearly fell backwards through a ruined castle doorway off a cliff. When he wobbled and nearly didn’t regain his balance my world stopped for a second. Still have the shivers about it now.

when dh was told he had cancer on my birthday. I couldn’t be with him, covid restrictions and i remember the charge nurse phoning me and telling me cos dh was too upset to speak.

when dd1 aged 8 came off her bike in front of a bus on our hill. She had been told not too ride her bike on the hill but did anyway. I just remember her screaming and screaming and her face and hands covered in blood. I was 8 months pregnant and how I didn’t go into labour I don’t know. She was ok, had to go hospital with her though, quite a few stitches.

Oh thought of another one.

i slipped and fell backwards into a deep pool with a heavy rucksack, walking boots, and a heavy coat on. I went underwater twice, inhaled water, didn’t know where I was and I really thought I was going to die. Dh had walked on and didn’t notice ( waterfall had drowned out sounds) luckily I manage to get to the side, dh noticed and pulls me out.

just that split second can mean tragedy. Sobering.

I have two
The first was a car crash - I was in the passenger seat with a friend driving on the motorway. We heard a bang and realised a car in front of had a tyre burst and was spinning towards us across the lanes while we were travelling 70m/hr... It felt like everything slowed down until we collided/ the whole front of our car was missing when we came to a stop but thankfully we all were okay. I have such a vivid memory of those few seconds over 20 years later.

My second is when my 7 month old son was diagnosed with a rare chromosome disorder .. I remember trying to concentrate on what the doctor was telling us but it felt like I was out of my body watching from above what was happening in the tiny side room at the outpatient department .. it was the day that changed the course of our lives.

I've been gripped reading some of these. Sending love to everyone x

I had just turned 15, my brother died suddenly, my grandparents picked me up from school and took me to their house an hour away. My parents walked in around 10pm and I just knew.
I walked out and hid in a tree, I have no idea how long I was gone but there was no sound or light, I thought it was the end of the world.

I spent 3 hours at the cemetery today sorting out his grave today, my parents were interred 3 months ago and we went to see the new head stone with their names etc added.

10 years ago I came hope from being out with friends all day and found my partner dead on the floor, again all senses stopped working. I have no recollection after calling an ambulance/police.

When my mum died, after afew hours
I remember standing at her front door and a strange silent feeling come over me
It was a very weird feeling

On holiday in Western Ireland visiting dh grandmother. We all went out front of the cottage for photos. Dh crossed the narrow lane to take shots of grandmother, cousin who held our 2yo dd, aunt and uncle who held our 3yo ds, and myself.
Cousin must have put dd down, who ran across the lane to dh. Then from nowhere a car. Everything seemed to slow down like slow motion, I remember hearing a cry and even that sounded as though it had been slowed down, seconds seemed like minutes.
The car hit dd who flew through the air like a rag doll and landed in a grassy ditch at the side of the road. She was unconscious and remained so until we reached hospital, and because of our location an ambulance would have taken too long, so the driver and car that hit dd took us to the hospital that was about 30 miles away.
She made a full recovery, but I still remember it like it happened yesterday, and dd is now in her 30s.